The National School of Drama is one of the foremost theatre training institutions in the world and the only one of its kind in India. It was set up by Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1959 as one of its constituent units. In 1975, it became an independent entity and was registered as an autonomous organization under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860, fully financed by Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Besides the training programme which is of 3 years duration, the School has explored new vistas in the areas of Children’s Theatre and decentralization of theatre training through workshops under the Extension Programme. In 1999, the School organized its first National Theatre Festival, which was christened Bharat Rang Mahotsav and is generally held during the second week of January each year.

The training in the School is highly intensive and is based on a through, comprehensive, carefully planned syllabus which covers every aspect of theatre in which theory is related to practice. As a part of their training, students are required to produce plays which are then performed before the public.

The admission to the School is restricted to 20 students only in the first year of the course. The selection of students is done on the basis of screening on an all India basis.

The School has two performing wings – Repertory and Theatre-in-Education. The Repertory Company was set up with the aim of providing a platform for graduates to produce and perform creative theatre on an experimental and later professional basis. The Company organizes its own festivals every summer. During this festival old and new productions are selected and staged. It also performs extensively on tours in India and abroad. The second performing wing Theatre-in-Education was established in 1989 with the objective of promoting theatre amongst children in the age group of 8 to 18 years. Later renamed The Sanskaar Rang Toli. It has completed more than 600 performances across the country.

In addition to these two wings, the School also has an active Extension Programme, Publication Section and a literary forum named Shruti.